


When He Was Kai

by PeterStark



Series: The Stag and the Fox [5]
Category: Hannibal (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Gods & Goddesses, Character Death, Curses, First Meetings, God of Death Hannibal, God of Justice Will, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Living Together, M/M, Making Love, No Beta, Non-Explicit Sex, References to Ancient Greek Religion & Lore, References to Norse Religion & Lore, Soulmates, Strangers to Lovers, True Love, video game references
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-20
Updated: 2021-01-20
Packaged: 2021-03-12 09:16:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,686
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28883052
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PeterStark/pseuds/PeterStark
Summary: Hanni takes a new approach at wooing his mate. One that wouldn't end in horror...hopefully.
Relationships: Will Graham/Hannibal Lecter
Series: The Stag and the Fox [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2085435
Comments: 1
Kudos: 38





	When He Was Kai

**Author's Note:**

> This section of the story has references to another video game. If you guess it, you get a gold star. Also, Black Butler references. Why? I don't know. Because.

Kai knelt and checked the nets. It had worked. The tide went out and left over a dozen large fish trapped in the little, circular cove of stone. It was much like a little well, once the tide went down, the net covered the only exit and went too high for them to jump free. With a smile, he pulled on the rope that held the basket at the bottom. The fish tried to escape, but couldn't as he lifted the submerged basket up. The water falling from it. He put the lid on the basket and listened as the fish flopped. He wished he could end their lives faster, the poor things. He tied the lid down and lowered his head.

"Thank you, Njord, for my bountiful catch." Kai lifted the basket and headed away from the rocky shore. He loved the ocean, but he feared staying near it. He didn't know why. But it was a fear he'd carried since childhood. He felt at peace by the ocean, but also exposed.

He retreated toward the long walk back up to the small home he had. It wasn't perfect. It held heat and usually protected him from the elements, though the winter had damaged the roof, so it now leaked. He had a few plants in his tiny farm. Mostly he sustained himself on fishing and foraging. 

Once upon a time, Kai had been a respected warrior of his people. He'd always been quiet, reserved. When he'd come back from one too many battles, the others began to suspect something was wrong with him. He knew he could look at people and see things, even things they wanted to hide. It's part of what made him a good warrior. It's also what ended up sending him into exile.

The village beauty had started spreading word about him being mad. So, now he was a gelt. He was supposed to be fighting off his inner demons in the wilds so he could go back home. But he found he didn't exactly want to leave the exile. It was quieter, peaceful. So he settled near enough to the ocean to hear it, but far enough to feel safe. He had his sword and a humble home he'd slowly built by hand. Once a lean-to, now a modest one-room log home.

Once he made it home, he started to work on his catch, to dry them so the fish wouldn't go to waste.

He still had some respect among his old village. He wondered if he could barter some if he went there after dark. His clothes were a little warn. New furs would be nice, and while he understood it, he didn't want to kill a deer. It would be a waste. He couldn't eat that much meat. It would be rude to kill an animal and waste it. He'd go there in the night.

Kai was grateful that his clothes had lasted through the winter. The spring air was slowly starting to warm.

-

Kai ducked behind a tree. The light in the forest was unnatural. The moon wasn't out and it wasn't fire. It was...almost green. The air was suddenly warm. The buds of leaves were unfurling, growing. Flowers were blooming. Something was off.

"Who's there?" A woman's voice called.

Kai stayed still, hand on the hilt of his blade. He turned his eyes toward the voice. Whatever power this woman held, he'd fight it off and win, if she proved to be a threat.

"You're human, I can tell. I'm not here to harm you. I'm just surprised. Most humans don't like to be alone in the dark."

"I'm not most humans. The dark doesn't scare me." So long as he could see, Kai wasn't too afraid. He hadn't encountered a darkness to blind him yet.

"Alone scares them too." The voice and light moved closer, but there was no sound.

"I thrive alone."

"You don't sound like you're lying. Interesting, most boast, but hate being in isolation." A large, green, glowing butterfly came around a tree, then shifted into a beautiful woman. "Oh. Hello."

Kai shifted slightly and stared at her. There was no threat in her eyes. He let go of his blade. "Who are you?"

"My name is Persephone, I am the goddess of spring."

"Forgive me, I don't know of you." Kai said, bowing his head slightly. She wasn't lying, he could tell. He'd return the courtesy. He DIDN'T know her.

"You wouldn't. You believe in the Norse gods. I am Greek. I'm not offended. I know a few Norse gods, in fact, I'm related to one by marriage." She grinned. "May I have your name?"

"Kai."

"Kai. Yes, that is a lovely name for you. You are a fisherman?"

"I like the sea."

Persephone nodded. "Well, my dear, don't mind me. Continue on your way, Kai. I mean only to warm away the winter. Is your home in that direction?" She pointed toward his home, as if on instinct.

"Yes."

"I shall let fresh fruit and vegetables grow their, to help you in your isolation, in thanks for your brief company. I often find myself alone, and I don't much care for it, unlike you. And your clothes are worn. I shall leave a robe for you there. Silk or wool?"

"Wool." It was far more practical.

"Of course. Perhaps we shall meet again one spring. I must continue, bringing in the warmth."

"Thank you, for the warm weather." Kai bowed his head.

"For you, it's my pleasure." She shifted into a butterfly and fluttered away.

Kai nodded and continued forward, glad he hadn't managed to insult the goddess.

-

Kai knelt and washed his face in the river. He didn't dare wear his robe when he did it. The robe was quite possible the loveliest thing he'd ever had, soft, warm, comforting. He wore it only rarely, usually in his home or on chilly nights when he fished without his net. The light furs he had on were enough for the warming weather though. He'd woken rather early, a strange freeing feeling had filled him and roused him from sleep. Like a bond he didn't know he wore had come off. He hoped the cold water could lift the strange feeling.

Footsteps approached.

Kai lifted his head. A handsome, slightly older man approached the river with a limp. Dark hair and eyes, tanned skin, sharp cheekbones.

"Hello." The man stopped on the other side of the river.

"Hello stranger." Kai frowned. He couldn't SEE this man, couldn't understand him. It was like looking at a wall. "You're new around here." Kai glanced at his sword, laying just out of reach.

"Afraid I got a bit lost." The man knelt and lifted his robe, washing a deep gash in his leg.

"What happened?"

"I was at sea, the waves weren't kind. I was tossed against a rock." It didn't sound like the truth.

The man didn't seem unsafe though. Kai couldn't see a weapon on him. "That'll fester."

"Perhaps." He shrugged. "May I have your name?"

"Kai."

"Hanni." He responded.

Kai stood, slipped his sword into his belt. Then he walked to a clump of what looked like weeds and cut free a bunch. He crossed the shallow river and knelt, crushing the herbs between two rocks. Then he put the paste into the cut. "Should help."

"You know these parts well."

"I've lived in these woods for a while." Kai looked up at the man. "You won't make it to the village on that leg."

"Likely not." Hanni agreed. "Not many other choices."

Kai sighed. "I can keep you until you can make the journey safely. You'll likely want to leave before then, however."

"Why would I want that?" Hanni asked.

"I'm an outcast."

"Ah, two outcasts should get along swimmingly, I should think."

"You seem far too sociable to be an outcast." Kai commented as he finished coating the gash. He kept an eye on the man as he washed his hands in the river.

"Oh my people live a...hell of a long way from here." Hanni smirked in a strange way, as if he'd told a funny joke. "But it would be rude to be discourteous in conversation."

"You'll find me quite rude then. I often end up saying more than I should...or not enough."

"Not fond of eye contact?" Hanni asked suddenly.

"I make people uncomfortable...and people make me uncomfortable. Too much going on."

"Oh, I don't mind." Hanni said, matter of fact.

Kai glanced up at him and tilted his head. He couldn't get a read on this man, but he was starting to understand that he was a strange one. He couldn't leave him in the forest. "I'll help you stand. I have a safe place you can go." Kai helped the man up.

"I'd be eternally grateful for such a kindness."

"Don't oversell, it's nothing fancy."

Hanni smiled gently and hobbled along with him.

-

Kai liked his house guest. He didn't often like being around people. It was all too much noise and input at once. He didn't dislike others, it just became difficult to focus around so many of them. He felt like he was catching their thoughts and losing his own. But with Hanni, he didn't feel that. Hanni was interesting, likely because he wasn't easy to read.

Kai gave up his bed for the man to sleep on. Hanni had tried insisting that Kai keep the bed, but Kai wouldn't have it. He'd slept in far worse places before and he wouldn't make a wounded guest sleep on the cold floor.

Hanni, for his part, took to preparing food in the home while Kai went out fishing or foraging. It was amazing. Kai'd never tasted anything better in his life. The man had a serious talent for making simple fish into something divine. The red sauce that he'd put on it was strange and almost had a hint of iron in it, but wonderful nonetheless. And unlike some of the other dishes, that strange sauce had left him feeling...stronger...it almost felt like a chain had broken loose from around him. Odd.

Hanni healed remarkably quick. And one day, Kai woke on the floor to a blanket wrapped around him and the bed empty. He was quite sure his new friend had left, moved on, going to the village. It...saddened him greatly. 

But then there was a sound on the roof. Kai stepped from his home and saw Hanni, kneeling on the roof, repairing it.

"What are you doing?"

"Returning the favor, I should think. You've shown me hospitality and I've laid around, rather pathetic."

"You didn't have to do anything." Kai assured him, flushing at the kindness. The food had already left him spoiled rotten. Along with the interesting and, frankly, lovely company. It would hurt so much when Hanni eventually left him. "Thank you."

"Of course, Kai." Hanni smiled at him and continued to work on the roof.

-

Hanni stayed.

Kai never asked him to leave and Hanni never asked if he could stay. It was like they'd reached an unspoken agreement.

Things just, worked, with the two of them together. The farm flourished under Hanni's care. Kai could hunt bigger game, now that there were two mouths to feed. The house, though still just one room, was stronger, warmer, better. The single bed had not been the obstacle Kai thought it might be. Hanni had no shyness about sharing it.

Kai did everything he could to keep himself rooted on his sliver of it. Something in him wanted nothing more than to press against Hanni every night. He'd never had that feeling before. So many in his village had been motivated by sex, attraction, touch. He'd been repulsed by it. Yet...he wished he could press close to Hanni, press and press until they were one.

He didn't though. He didn't want Hanni to leave.

They lived well, in their isolation.

Until the day people decided to try to disrupt their home.

Kai had killed one of the three, his sword planted firmly in his gut. He hoped Hanni had gone. He'd never seen the man fight. He knew Hanni was strong, but strong didn't make a fighter, nor did it make a killer or survivor.

Except, Hanni was standing over two bodies, his hands bloody. He hadn't even used a weapon.

Hanni didn't look human, he looked godly, so beautiful that it stole Kai's breath from him. Hanni looked up at him and smiled a tiny, little smile. "Where I'm from, we have a tradition, among my people. To take the strength from those we best. Consuming their power grants us further power."

"And where are you from?" Kai asked. Hanni had never told him.

"A hell of a long way from here." Hanni snorted, like it was a joke. "The heart is traditional." The dark eyes were...just so beautiful, so convincing.

Kai felt possessed. But when Hanni pulled a heart free from one of his kills and offered it to Kai with a simple 'I'll share this strength with you.' Kai didn't refuse. 

He ate.

It felt wrong...but oddly tasted right and left him feeling lighter than he ever had before.

Hanni'd never smiled wider.

-

It was months later, Kai on his back with Hanni pressing into him, that he felt the scales fall from his eyes. He gasped at the foreign pressure inside of him, but also at the feeling of waking up. "H-Hanni. Fuck. Hanni!"

"Kai? Are you alright?"

"Masayi." He corrected breathlessly.

Hanni's eyes lit up and watered. He peppered kisses across Masayi's face in adoration.

"Hanni, please. Touch me. Make love to me. I miss you." Masayi reached up and held Hanni closer . "I love you."

"And I love you." Hanni swore with all the devotion in the universe. "My Masayi."

"My Hanni."

-

Masayi clung to Hanni and cried against his chest after they'd made love, several times. Hanni too cried, not letting him go. "Stay."

"For as long as I can." Masayi promised. He couldn't promise anything more than that. He nuzzled against Hanni. "Don't let me ever be apart from you again, Hanni. Force me if you must. Whatever it takes. I want to be with you. I don't want my mother to have power over us. I don't want to be hers, I want to be yours. Please. Promise me. Promise you will take me back from her, whatever it takes. I cannot take it, being confined, imprisoned. Least of all by her."

Hanni's face looked a little apprehensive. But he nodded. "Yes. I will always do everything in my power to bring you back."

Masayi sighed in relief and curled closer. "Thank you, my love."

"Always, beloved." Hanni smiled. "And we will end this. I will find a way to free you entirely. No matter what it takes."

-

They lived happily. Warmly and safely together, a life full of love and happiness. They lived together, and it was so strange, seeing grey touch Masayi's beautiful brown curls, yet he still looked wonderful, perfect. Hanni held him close at all times.

Many decades after they met, Hanni kissed Masayi goodnight. Masayi smiled at him, tiredly. 

"I love you, Hanni."

"I love you, Mas."

Masayi snuggled close and fell asleep against his chest.

Content, Hanni closed his eyes and slept, holding the love of his life.

Hanni woke as the sun rose. There was a cool weight against his chest. No. Not cool...cold. "Mas?" Had the man gone out into the winter cold in the night? Come back to warm up. "Mas, you're cold." Hanni pulled the blanket up further around them.

Masayi's hand fell limply from Hanni's shoulder at the movement.

"Mas?"

No response.

"Mas?!" Hanni's eyes brimmed with tears. He turned them. Masayi was dead, cold. Lifeless. "No. Pl-please, don't go." But they'd been living a beautiful life.

A life cut short when old age took Masayi away as he slept on Hanni's chest.

The cycle would start anew.

**Author's Note:**

> Kai means water, which is fitting, since Masayi is the son of Njord, the Norse god of the sea and of fishing.  
> Take Care.


End file.
